Handwashing More Useful Than Drugs
in Virus ControlA study,
published in the British Medical Journal, found that physical barriers, such as
regular handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns, may be more
effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as
influenza and SARS.
Searching through 51 studies, the researchers found that simple, low-cost
physical measures should be given higher priority in national pandemic
contingency plans. The studies compared any intervention to prevent
animal-to-human or human-to-human transmission of respiratory viruses, such as
isolation, quarantine, social distancing, barriers, personal protection and
hygiene, to doing nothing or to other types of intervention, excluding vaccines
and antiviral drugs.
The researchers found that handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns
were effective individually in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses,
and were even more effective when combined. This study follows another that was
published in the Cochrane Library Journal last month which found that just soap
and water to be a simple and effective way to curb the spread of respiratory
viruses, from everyday cold viruses to deadly pandemic strains.

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